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The war between Google and Apple comes down to two words — mobile domination. Both companies have a desire to grab the attention of consumers looking for easy-to-use mobile products with just the right features. The Big G and the Big A are competing with everything that has to do with mobile, including mobile search. Google may primarily control how content is discovered on mobile devices (and the Internet, in general), but Apple is the company that makes a lot of the products people use to do all of that searching, at least the ones that get all the media attention. On the surface, this would seem like a mutually beneficial relationship. The reason it’s not is that Google is also competing with its mobile products via its Android operating system. And Apple is fighting back by cutting in on Google’s search engine turf (more on that later).

Android Has the Edge, But Apple Gets All of the Product Launch Attention

Developed by Google, Android officially launched in 2008. About a year earlier, Apple unleashed its first iPhone to the public. Going by the numbers alone, Google has the edge with global users; there are about 2 billion Android smartphones out there and nearly 450 million iOS-based ones. Apple, however, has incredible marketing skills, so the company’s new iOS products tend to generate a lot more buzz. Google counters this by using its search engine power to target iOS users and convince them to make the switch to Android products. Yes, this means Google takes advantage of the fact that a lot of iOS users use Google to find stuff on their Apple devices.

Google Is Still King When It Comes to Search — But Apple Wants to Change That!

Of course, Apple is also well aware of Google’s apparent advantage with search engines, so they are working on their own. Right now, Apple has Spotlight, a selection-based search system. Many industry insiders expect Apple to continue to focus on building up Spotlight as a viable alternative to Google’s search engine, although Google is still the clear winner with search engines. Not surprisingly, Google stepped up its mobile game when Apple started exploring search engine possibilities. Meanwhile, the two giants continue to duke it out with dueling product launches and updates. All of which brings us to the latest battle in the Google vs. Apple war: Google’s Pixel and Pixel 2 XL and Apple’s iPhone X.

The Smartphone Wars: Google and Apple’s New Devices

Google announced the arrival of Pixel and Pixel 2 XL in early October 2017. Most of the attention is on the Pixel 2 XL. Not to be outdone, Apple announced plans for a November 2017 launch of the iPhone X at an event in September. For the sake of comparison, let’s put the spotlight on Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X (pronounced “ten” not “X,” according to Apple execs). As for the similarities, both devices are waterproof, and both are made of glass and metal. Both methods also have simple branding.

First Impressions with Design

Going beyond the glass and metal, the Pixel 2 XL has a single-lens camera sensor in the back where there’s also a glass panel. For added security, there’s a fingerprint sensor below this panel. Additional exterior designs with the Pixel 2 XL include:

• Front-facing speakers at the top and bottom
• Orange volume button on the right edge for a splash of color
• Front camera
• Bezels to house the speakers
• Six-inch AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display
• Quad HD+ resolution (2880 x 1440)
• Pixel density of 538ppi
• Faster charging

The iPhone X’s most prominent feature is an almost entirely all-screen front, although the Pixel 2 XL is similar. The only thing other than the screen on the front is small sliver for the camera. While Google is touting its fingerprint recognition feature, Apple is all about facial recognition, one of the iPhone X’s most talked about new capabilities. Some other notable iPhone X exterior features include:

• 5.8-inch Super Retina HD OLED display
• Pressure sensitive display with 3D Touch
• Stereo speakers on the bottom
• Fingerprint-resistant coating
• 2436-by-1125-pixel resolution at 458ppi
• Two more hours of battery life
• Wireless charging

Pixel 2 XL vs. iPhone X: War of the Cameras

Cameras on both phones use organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. The Pixel 2 XL has a single camera sensor in the back and a front-facing camera. Both phones have stabilization and auto-focus features. Apple’s device has a dual-rear camera and improved local tone mapping. The camera’s added face detection feature is what allows for the use of FaceID.

The iPhone X continues to use mobile HDR (high dynamic range), a setting already available with the iPhone camera app. HDR is technology that allows for greater detail because of the way photos are processed within the camera. Essentially, it means bright and dark areas in photos show up with better clarity and distinction.

Looking Inside: The Hardware Battle

Okay, let’s look at these two new products. Without getting into specification details, let’s just say both devices have powerful hardware and move on. With storage, there’s more space to save stuff on the iPhone X. Charging is faster with both phones. But Apple is offering wireless charging on its latest device, a plus for anyone looking to avoid the many issues with wire clutter. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor powers the Pixel 2 XL. The iPhone X is powered by an all bionic chip with a neural engine. The device also has an embedded M11 motion co-processor. Neither phone has a headphone jack.

What About the Software?

The software is a big part of the war between Google and Apple when it comes to the mobile scene. In general, Google is diving into the mobile app game, a desire fueled by Apple’s efforts to compete with Google’s search engine. Android now has App Links as an alternative to Apple’s Universal Links and App Streaming. It is an application that allows users to download components as needed instead of downloading everything at once.

Google has also boosted its Search Console and improved its Android Studio so developers can incorporate app indexing. However, Apple currently has the advantage over Google with app indexing. With apps, it’s difficult to declare a winner in the war between the two companies since many of the top applications have versions for both iOS and Android. There is also no clear advantage for developers with app software with Apple and Google, although younger app users tend to prefer Android devices since they are less expensive.

Getting back to the Pixel 2 XL and iPhone X comparison, Google’s new device runs on Android’s Oreo. The iPhone X uses iOS 11. Google offers access to all of its latest software and related features. Apple is offering new drag and drop features, a revamped control center, a “do not disturb” driving mode, and Siri improvements with its OS. Speaking of Siri, both devices also have easily accessible personal assistants.

Expect Google and Apple to continue to try to outmaneuver each other with anything that has to do with mobile. It’s kind of like the tech version of Coke vs. Pepsi. However, this doesn’t necessarily make things easy for developers when it comes to adjusting for feature changes and capabilities while trying to keep pace as new technology is added to both Apple and Google products. As for customers looking for a smartphone with all of the latest bells and whistles, it can be just as overwhelming when trying to decide between new products. To be fair, there is no readily declared the winner between the Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X. Both devices have sleek, modern designs, convenient and well-designed interfaces, and a decent selection of appealing features. Ultimately, the choice for most consumers will come down to price (the iPhone X is more expensive) and which operating system is preferred.

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The War Between Google And Apple In The Mobile Scene

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